H.P. Lovecraft, one of the
creators of horror literature as we know it, was a tall, skinny, long-faced
racist/xenophobic recluse - a man who was demonstrably afraid of the
world, and transmogrified that fear into stories of the uncanny that
define "weird fiction." He lived in Providence, RI, for most
of his life, often in long periods of solitude and seclusion.
His stories pit protagonists of learning and science - often Providence-area
natives - against unspeakably horrific creatures of godlike power
and omnipotence. These creatures - who appear in a loosely connected
group of stories known as "The Cthulhu Mythos" - observe humanity
with utter dispassion, and Lovecraft's characters are powerless before
them. In these stories, Lovecraft envisions a world where the
ultimate terror goes hand-in-hand with the ultimate knowledge - the
human confrontation with previously unknown powers that totally compromise
and moot our Earth-bound concepts of human advancement and values.
Is anything more frightening than the idea that individual human lives
are insignificant and meaningless? It could be argued that this
fear was the engine behind all human activity - and yet all human
industry was threatened by the forces Lovecraft imagined. The
consecration of this deeply existential neurosis in his short stories
comprises a key contribution to literature - a body of work that maintains
lasting philosophical immediacy.

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
is an appropriately-titled look at this very influential author's
life and work. It is also - as far as I can tell - the first
feature-length film to look at Lovecraft in detail. Director Frank
H. Woodward has up to this point largely been involved in documentary
featurettes on DVDs of other films. Woodward does a good job of
balancing biographical material with analysis of Lovecraft's style,
vision, and key stories. He has also assembled a crack panel of
talking heads to delve into these topics. Neil Gaiman, Guillermo
del Toro, John Carpenter, Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, writer Ramsey
Campbell, director Stuart Gordon, Peter Straub, and Caitlin Kiernan
are among the illustrious names who go beyond praise and offer true
insight into Lovecraft's work. Del Toro in particular has some
very perceptive things to say; Gaiman's input is more critical of
Lovecraft, but still very thoughtful and interesting. All of these
contributors reflect a deep knowledge and engagement with Lovecraft's
work that goes well beyond a standard appreciation.

Visuals are provided by a combination
of present-day footage of Providence locations, historical photographs,
and artists' renditions of scenes from Lovecraft stories. Although
Lovecraft died in 1937, no film footage of the author is included here.
Perhaps there is none available, which would be a sadness; it would
be particularly interesting to hear him reading his own work, but there
is nothing like that here (although an actor reads some of Lovecraft's
words in voice-over). As far as the contributions of artists who
have visualized scenes from Lovecraft's stories, I don't find them
of great value - in fact, I believe they do a disservice to the power
of Lovecraft's language. Since Lovecraft specializes in "fear
of the unknown," as the documentary's title affirms, illustrating
his stories moots their effect. Lovecraft's voice is mannered
and recognizable - his distinctive tone is what grips readers.
Lovecraft's narrators are often faced with the indescribable - Lovecraft
uses words to get at difficult-to-summarize, deeply rooted metaphysical
ideas. The stories are not about what the monsters look like -
they are about the effects these monsters have on the minds of his human
protagonists. They are almost a MacGuffin that provides a point
of entry for the dissection of the deepest kind of fear and revulsion.
Rendering those monsters in full-color illustration neuters the power
that Lovecraft invests them with on the page.

This is a relatively minor
criticism, though, of a film that provides a solid overview of this
fascinating man - an author whose influence remains very strong among
writers across many genres (in fact, although he's not mentioned or
interviewed here, I see a great reflection of Lovecraft in the work
of Chuck Palahniuk). Given his extreme eccentricity - he lived
a life almost totally sealed off from regular society - and his unpleasant,
noxious views on race and immigration, Lovecraft would likely have made
a very discomfiting dinner guest. But his work's indelibility,
with its descriptive power and parallels to that of Nietzsche and Sartre,
embodies humanity's most deep-seated fears and anxieties.

The DVD

The Video and Audio
The DVD screener I received was a review copy, coming in a small black
envelope. Therefore, I cannot be certain as to whether the technical
presentation represents the final product. The enhanced video
presentation and solid stereo soundtrack are fine. The transfer
does show a bit of digital noise/artifacts, although detail is generally
good. The sound mix is simple and clear.

The Extras The main extra feature is a selection of Extended Interviews
(75:00) that run almost the length of the 90-minute feature. There are some
great additional insights here, all provided by the feature's interviewees.
It's good stuff, with some redundancy, but worth watching.

Final
Thoughts

Lovecraft's work has fascinated
me for years - and as a former resident of his hometown, it was certainly
interesting to learn more about the man whose self-authored and enigmatic
epitaph is "I AM PROVIDENCE." Frank H. Woodward has crafted
an informative and insightful introduction to this strange, strange
man. Recommended.